Photo credit: muratart / Shutterstock
Last month, Fervo went public. Other geothermal startups are crowding the market, each offering a slightly different twist on the technology. The growing industry has a symbiotic relationship with hyperscalers like Google that are willing to spend big. These are all signs that 2026 could be the industry’s break-out moment.
Spencer Jackson, a former SpaceX engineer turned entrepreneur, agrees that geothermal is hitting an inflection point — but notes that most of the focus and resources in the industry have been going towards subsurface work, such as drilling and exploration.
“But there’s a turbine shortage,” Jackson told Latitude Media, noting that about half the cost of a geothermal power plant is the surface hardware that converts heat to electricity, and that if geothermal keeps growing at its current rate, there isn’t going to be enough of that equipment readily available.
Based on this premise, Jackson founded Critical Energy, a startup aiming to streamline and simplify the construction of power plants for geothermal. The company, which was founded in 2024, announced today that it has raised $22 million in seed funding, across rounds led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures, with participation from MaC Venture Capital and Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, among others. It also obtained an undisclosed venture debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.
